


why do grocery shelves have to be this high?

by vai_the_trooper



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Grocery Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25210897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vai_the_trooper/pseuds/vai_the_trooper
Summary: chaeyoung and tzuyu go out to do the groceries.also chaeyoung has feelings for tzuyu that she'd rather not admit yet.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	why do grocery shelves have to be this high?

Chaeyoung was definitely not in the mood to get out of bed that Saturday morning.

Jihyo didn’t want to let Tzuyu do the groceries on her own, but almost everyone else was occupied. Sana and Momo were taking Boo to the vet for his mandatory vaccine shots, Nayeon and Jeongyeon were doing some housekeeping with her, and Mina dragged Dahyun out to accompany her in buying the new Doom game, which left Chaeyoung being the only one who could come with Tzuyu.

Chaeyoung was pretty adamant about staying in bed for as long as she could. It wasn’t that she  _ didn’t  _ want to be with Tzuyu though. She was just feeling all cranky after being woken up too early for her liking (which was actually pretty late already, but nobody dared point that out). 

Well, that and she didn’t want to deal with her feelings. Like,  _ actual  _ feelings for Tzuyu. She didn’t know when she started feeling that way, but it wasn’t until after a night out with the girls that she finally admitted it to herself. However, she was worried it would ruin her friendship with Tzuyu if she told her how she felt. She talked to a few of the others about it, but almost all their answers were the same: “Just tell her! There’s nothing to lose!”

_ Pfft, yeah right, there’s nothing to lose,  _ she often thought to herself.  _ Nothing to lose except five years of friendship. _

“Come on, Chae, please?” Jihyo asked as she stood at the side of the bunk bed. “I need Nayeon’s help here at the dorm and you’re the only other person here who can drive.”

“Then maybe I could help here instead and have Nayeon come with Tzuyu?” Chaeyoung asked.

“Unless you know how to fix the washing machine, then sure.” Jihyo answered, leaving Chaeyoung unable to answer, knowing she doesn’t know how to.

“Besides, don’t you think this is a great opportunity to tell Tzuyu how you feel?” Jihyo continued, finally making Chaeyoung turn and peek from the top bunk.

“No, I don’t. I’m sorry, but I still don’t think I’m ready.” Chaeyoung answered as she yawned. “Maybe some other time.”

Jihyo sighed as she walked closer to the bed. “Chae, think about it. How long have you felt this way towards Tzuyu? You’ve been friends with her for a long time now, so how long do you think you can keep this from her?”

“As long as it takes, I guess.” Chaeyoung answered as she laid back down. “I don’t wanna risk it.”

“Okay then, fine. Let’s leave it at that, since I can’t really tell you what to do with your feelings. But, we still have the matter of groceries to talk about.” Jihyo continued. “If commuting was easy, I’d let her go on her own, but you know how hard it is to commute carrying lots of stuff, right? And I don’t wanna tire her out. Would  _ you  _ want to tire her out?”

_ I’d hate to admit it, but you have a point.  _ Chaeyoung thought. She sighed as she moved to get down from the top bunk. “Alright, fine, I get it. Let me just get cleaned up a little.” 

A small smile emerged from Jihyo’s face. “I’m glad you understand. I’ll go tell Tzuyu you’ll be downstairs in a bit.” She said as she left the room.

_ Everything’s gonna be fine. All I have to do is not let her know how I feel. I’ve been doing it for quite a while now, so it shouldn’t be too hard, right? _

  
  


\---------------------

  
  


Chaeyoung thinks she might have jinxed it.

The moment they got in Nayeon’s car, she found herself struggling to keep herself together next to Tzuyu. Ever since she accepted that she had feelings for her, she always tried to keep herself from acting in ways that would make it obvious. Today was no different, but something about being in a small enclosed space and being that close to her made it more difficult.

“Umm, Chaeng? Is everything alright?” Tzuyu asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“O-oh, uhh, yeah, everything’s fine.” Chaeyoung stuttered as she started up the car. She couldn’t tell properly as she was a bit wrapped up in her own feelings, but she could feel that Tzuyu was a bit distant that morning. Well, as distant as you can get inside a car. As she was about to step on the gas, though, Tzuyu’s hand shot out to grab her by her arm, making her stop.

“Wait!” Tzuyu exclaimed.

“Whoa! Wh-what’s the matter?!” Chaeyoung yelped.

“You forgot to put your seatbelt on.” Tzuyu replied in a soft voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

A quick glance down made Chaeyoung realize that she did indeed forget to buckle her seatbelt. “Oh, y-yeah, sorry about that. Thanks for the reminder.” _Crap, did she notice that I was zoning out?_

Tzuyu let go of her arm to let her buckle her seatbelt, and soon enough, they were off to the supermarket. On the way there, Chaeyoung can’t help but notice how Tzuyu seemed to avoid looking her way. Granted, she was driving and she shouldn’t be distracted, but it just made the moment feel a bit sour. She decided to turn on the radio in an attempt to fill in the silence. 

Upon pressing the “on” button, it seemed that the universe was egging her on as well, because as it turned out, Nayeon’s car radio was broken.  _ Ah damn it, what am I gonna do now? Do I try to talk to her?  _

“So umm… Have you watched the last season of She-Ra yet?” Chaeyoung asked in an attempt to start a conversation.

“Oh, right! I haven’t been able to keep up because of this stupid term paper.” Tzuyu responded. “I think I left off at the episode where Sea Hawk got them kidnapped.”

“Oh my God, I loved that episode! It got me listening to Mermista and Sea Hawk’s rock song on repeat for days.” Chaeyoung said. 

“Right? It was  _ soooo  _ good! And that’s coming from me. You know I’m not into that kind of music, but I liked it a lot.” Tzuyu continued. 

“Wait ‘til you see Mermista in a suit-”

“Hup up up, no spoilers.” Tzuyu interrupted. “I know you finished the entire fifth season in one night, so try to keep it to yourself.”

“Wha- how did you know?” Chaeyoung asked.

“Because I barely slept that night. You were shifting around and squealing so much up there I thought there was an earthquake.” Tzuyu answered.

“Heh, sorry, my bad.” Chaeyoung said as she scratched her head.  _ Wow, didn’t think that would work that well. Now all I need to do is keep it going. _

“Hey, wanna watch with me when I finally have the time?” Tzuyu asked, catching Chaeyoung off guard. “I know you finished it already, but it’s boring to watch alone.”

“O-oh, s-sure, why not!” Chaeyoung stuttered.  _ Okay, might be going a little too well, but hey, at least it’s not awkwardly silent anymore. _

  
  


\-----------------------------

  
  


_ So far, so good.  _ Chaeyoung thought as she and Tzuyu walked through the supermarket aisles. They had just gotten started with the shopping list Jihyo gave them so their cart was still pretty empty, save for a few packs of strawberry milk (Chaeyoung insisted that she’d pay for whatever extra she bought).

They had gone through a few of the aisles already and slowly began completing the shopping list. It was going relatively well, until they reached the toiletries section. Chaeyoung broke off and walked ahead to get to the shelves near the end of the aisle because the toothpastes were there. She was about to take a few boxes until she saw the small note written next to the word “toothpaste” on their list:  _ get the Sensodyne brand please!  _

She looked around for the Sensodyne brand toothpaste, unable to find it until she looked up at the top shelf.

_ Why do these shelves always have to be so high up…  _ Chaeyoung thought to herself, sighing deeply.  _ And why do the others have to be picky with the toothpaste they use? All toothpastes clean the mouth either way. _

Not wanting to bother Tzuyu for help with reaching for the toothpaste, she tried to reach up to the top shelf herself. After a minute or so, Tzuyu finally noticed that Chaeyoung wasn’t beside her, and upon looking ahead, she tried to hold back a laugh at the sight that was in front of her. 

“Need a lift?” Tzuyu joked as she approached, pushing their cart towards Chaeyoung.

“Ah!” Chaeyoung yelped, nearly jumping at the sound of Tzuyu’s voice. The way Chaeyoung reacted to her voice confirmed that Chaeyoung was still on edge.

_ Something’s definitely up with her. She’s been acting weird all morning.  _ Tzuyu thought.  _ Maybe she needs a little pick-me-up...literally. _

“Oh, sorry, did I startle you?” Tzuyu asked as she parked their cart next to them before moving next to Chaeyoung.

“A little, yeah.” Chaeyoung responded. “I uhh, heh, I can’t reach the toothpaste. I didn’t want to bother you but umm, can you get the Sensodyne up there?”

“I could, but I have a better idea.” Tzuyu answered before moving to stand behind her.

“Tzuyu, what are you- ah!” Chaeyoung yelped as Tzuyu put her arms around Chaeyoung’s waist before lifting her effortlessly. “Ahh! Tzuyu! Put me down!”

“Quickly! Grab the toothpaste before I drop you!” Tzuyu said as she raised Chaeyoung up towards the shelf. She felt her heart beat through her chest from the contact as the guard she had put up to keep herself from acting weird around Tzuyu fell to pieces. She couldn’t believe what was happening as Tzuyu held her tight, as if the universe just decided to throw her a curveball and said “just tell her already!” (which she still doesn’t want to do. Not yet, anyway.) 

“H-hey! Put me down already!” Chaeyoung said. Not wanting to strain herself further, Tzuyu complied and put the smaller girl down.

“What was that for?!” Chaeyoung asked as she turned to face Tzuyu.

“Well, you were looking a bit down since we got here, so I thought maybe you needed a little “boost”.” Tzuyu answered as she gave Chaeyoung a little nudge. “Heh, get it? A boost? Because I boosted you up-”

“Y-yeah, okay, I get it…” Chaeyoung muttered. “Just, don’t try that again next time. We might end up knocking something over and causing a big mess.”

And it was in this change of tone that set things in motion.

“Oh, s-sorry, did I umm, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.” Tzuyu stuttered as she looked away. “I just wanted to help. I just thought you were just really bummed out about having to go out today, so I decided to cheer you up a little.”

It took a moment for Chaeyoung to realize it, but when she looked up and saw Tzuyu’s face, she knew she messed up. She  _ definitely  _ hurt her feelings, judging from the way her eyes glistened and how the smile she always had was now gone.

_ Ah, damn it! I messed up real bad this time. I was so caught up in what  _ I  _ feel that I didn’t think of how  _ you  _ feel. _

“N-no! I didn’t mean it that way, Tzuyu.” Chaeyoung said as she took Tzuyu’s hands. “I should be the one who’s sorry.”

“It’s okay, Chae. Let’s just keep going so we can get back to the dorm faster.” Tzuyu said, sniffling as she lowered her hands and let go.

_ Oh no, I’m really doing this, aren’t I?  _ She thought to herself as she took a deep breath.  _ I guess Jihyo was right, I can’t keep it a secret forever.  _

As Tzuyu was about to return to pushing their cart, Chaeyoung stopped her and turned her around to face her. “Wait, Tzuyu, listen. The truth is, there’s something I’ve been keeping from you.”

“Huh? W-what do you mean?” Tzuyu asked, her eyes still not meeting with Chaeyoung’s.

“I should’ve done this sooner and saved us a lot of trouble, but....”

_ I guess this is it then. No turning back now. _

Chaeyoung took Tzuyu’s hands and held them tight as she stepped closer. “Tzuyu, I… I like you. Like,  _ really,  _ like you.”

The next few moments of silence felt like forever to Chaeyoung, until Tzuyu mustered up the strength to talk.

“You do?” She asked as she looked up, finally locking eyes with the shorter girl.

“Y-yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I was just afraid that I might ruin our friendship.” Chaeyoung answered. “We’ve been friends for years now, and I didn’t want to lose it over something like this.”

She was expecting everything to just come crashing down. She was ready for Tzuyu to just go silent, hell, she was ready if Tzuyu would decide to just ignore what just happened and just get the groceries done.

What she  _ didn’t  _ expect was Tzuyu pulling her in and wrapping her in a tight hug. “You could have told me sooner, Chae.” Tzuyu said as she held her close, and Chaeyoung swears she just straight up melted in her arms. She was so worried about everything going wrong, but now that she was finally at ease, she could only move her arms to hug Tzuyu back.

“I guess that explains everything then.” Tzuyu continued, making Chaeyoung look up at her in confusion.

“Wait, does that mean-”

“Yes, it does.” Tzuyu interrupted, giggling as she brushed Chaeyoung’s hair away from her face. “I didn’t want to ask you about it because I didn’t want to assume, but it was pretty obvious something was off.”

“Ugh, I tried my best to hide it, you know.” Chaeyoung said as she tried to hide her face out of embarrassment.

“Maybe it’s because you tried too hard that it just made it more obvious.” Tzuyu added. “You could’ve been more subtle like me.”

“So, that means you like me too, right?” Chaeyoung asked. 

“Of course it does, silly! I would’ve told you otherwise.” Tzuyu answered as she chuckled before letting go of her. “My God, you really  _ are _ dense, huh?” 

“Hey, in my defense, I’m just trying to make sure. Wouldn’t wanna assume, right?” Chaeyoung said as she fixed her hair a little.

“Fair enough. Ah well anyway, now that that’s over with, we should probably get going. It’s almost noon and this grocery list isn’t going to finish itself.” Tzuyu said as she moved to push their cart again.

“Oh, right, the groceries.” Chaeyoung mumbled as she walked alongside her and pushed the cart as well. “Almost forgot about that.” 

Tzuyu giggled as she held Chaeyoung’s hand on the cart’s handle. “Hey, you can go back to sleep quicker if we finish up here as fast as we can.” Chaeyoung simply smiled, briefly locking eyes with Tzuyu before breaking off from her.

“Alrighty then, what’s next on our list?” Chaeyoung asked as they entered the next aisle.

_ That’s the Chaeyoung I know and love.  _ Tzuyu thought as she kept her eyes on her.  _ Who would’ve known, huh? Who would’ve known… _

  
  


_ \---------------------- _

  
  


“We’re back!” Tzuyu yelled as she and Chaeyoung entered the dorm carrying the groceries.

“Oh hey, you two are right on time!” Jeongyeon said as she approached them. “We’re just about done making lunch, so just leave the bags on the counter.”

“Mmm, what are you guys making?” Chaeyoung asked, sniffing the air as they placed the grocery bags on the kitchen counter.

“Heh, you’ll see. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure Nayeon doesn’t burn the whole house down.” Jeongyeon said.

“Hey! I heard that!” Nayeon yelled from the kitchen, making Chaeyoung and Tzuyu laugh.

“Well good! I made sure you did!” Jeongyeon yelled back as she headed back to the kitchen.

“These two are always at each other’s throats, huh?” Chaeyoung remarked as they headed to the living room.

“Yeah...they are…” Tzuyu said, with her voice trailing off as she shuddered. “Literally  _ and  _ figuratively.”

_ “Oh.”  _ Chaeyoung could only say, realizing what Tzuyu meant. “You must’ve seen things you shouldn’t have seen.”

“Yep. Zero out of ten. Would  _ not  _ recommend again.” Tzuyu said as they entered the living room. Upon entering though, they were both shocked by the sudden loud heavy metal music that attacked their eardrums before seeing Mina on the couch, wholly engrossed in the game she was playing on the TV.

“Damn, Mina, what are you playing?!” Chaeyoung asked as they both plopped down on the couch beside her.

“Doom: Eternal! It’s great, isn’t it?” Mina answered without looking over. “It’s probably the best FPS I’ve played in a while!” 

“I’m sure it is, but umm, is it okay if you turn down the volume a little?” Tzuyu said as she and Chaeyoung settled in their seats.

“Oh, sure. Heh, sorry, I was a little too excited to play.” Mina said before pausing the game and lowering the volume. 

“Thanks.” Tzuyu said as Mina unpaused the game and returned to playing. She watched the game unfold as Mina played, but realized it was a little too much for her after watching demon blood and guts fly across the screen. She looked over to Chaeyoung and was about to ask her if she wanted to rest in their room instead, until she noticed that Chaeyoung was nodding off already.

_ Aww, look at you, you little sleepyhead.  _ Tzuyu thought as she moved Chaeyoung’s head a little to let her rest on her shoulder. As if on instinct, Chaeyoung looped her arm around Tzuyu’s arm and laced her fingers with hers. 

_ When I woke up this morning, I never would’ve thought we’d end up like this, and it’s not even lunchtime yet. Well, who am I to complain? Not when we’re both right where we want to be. _

Tzuyu rested her head on Chaeyoung’s and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep as well. They didn’t even hear Sana and Momo’s frantic footfalls as they rushed down the stairs to chase Boo, who had a phone charger cable in his mouth, and not even the sound of Dahyun’s yelling as she asked where her phone’s charger cable went was enough to wake them up. 


End file.
